Weekend Picks: Baylor-Oklahoma, UCLA-Utah lead must-watch games

After losing three out of four, the Hurricanes took care of business by routing a bad College of Charleston squad at home this week, but the level of competition is going to be much tougher in this one. The Cavaliers were pushed at home by a plucky Davidson team but pulled away thanks to a career-high 25 points and 13 rebounds from 6-foot-8 junior forward Anthony Gill. Just what Virginia needs: another weapon.

The Pirates may have lost freshman guard Isaiah Whitehead for the foreseeable future, but they still pulled off a surprising, confidence-building win over St. John’s Wednesday. The downside now is that the Wildcats will come into this matchup amped up and ready to play. It would help Villanova’s cause if 6-2 junior guard Dylan Ennis would snap out of his shooting slump.

The Terrapins may be one of the nation’s surprise teams, but they have played most of the season at less than full strength. That is not the case anymore, which should mean another win over a Minnesota squad that just dropped a road game against Purdue, which had been struggling the last few weeks.

A big reason Oklahoma has been playing better the last few weeks is the way sophomore point guard Jordan Woodard has improved at taking care of the ball. That will need to be the case against an athletic Baylor team that has been racking up easy wins against inferior competition.

Both of these teams are badly in need of a win. Illinois should get some good looks at the rim against Ohio State’s soft 2-3 zone, but the way the Illini have been shooting lately, I’m not sure that will be much of an advantage. As for the Buckeyes, freshman guard D’Angelo Russell needs to show he can perform well against good competition.

Larry Eustachy’s Rams have been terrific in the nonconference, but hitting the road against a league foe is a different kind of challenge. I might like the Lobos at home, but since they are still without leading scorer Cullen Neal, who has not played since Nov. 20 because of a severely sprained ankle, I’ll go with the visitors in this one.

Utah has done a wonderful job exceeding its considerably high preseason expectations, and the team will continue to improve now that 6-6 junior forward Jordan Loveridge has returned from injury. UCLA, meanwhile, is not built to win on the road. It will be a bumpy ride for the Bruins the rest of the season.

The Jayhawks have been struggling on offense without freshman point guard Devonte Graham, who injured a toe in the win over Georgetown, but they should still have enough firepower to get by the Runnin’ Rebels at home. I realize UNLV freshman guard Rashad Vaughn is getting most of the pub (as well he should; he’s leading the Mountain West in scoring), but keep your eye on 6-11 sophomore forward Christian Wood. He’s a terrific shot blocker who was the offensive hero of the win over Arizona.

Aside from a head-scratching 15-point loss at DePaul in November, Stanford has been pretty consistent. The same was true for Washington until its pratfall at home against Stony Brook last week. The Huskies need to do a better job utilizing the free throw line, but that will be hard to do on the road against a tall team that plays a lot of zone.